Thing-a-Day 2011: what in the world I’m doing

I've been getting pumped up for Thing-a-Day for a few weeks now, and I'm ready for it to start already! 

What is Thing-a-Day?  It's a creative sprint.  The idea is to create something, every day, for the month of February.  Just the thing we all need to shake us out of the February slump, when lack of sunshine and fresh air is really starting to take its toll.  Winter activities have become boring, snow is no longer pretty, bad weather feels more like a jail sentence than a good excuse to play hooky.  Blah.  I'm tired and I'm bored.  So I'm doing something different.

I have two particular goals for Thing-a-Day this year.  The first is finishing things.  I'm terrible about this.  I have two pairs of pants that I've sewn from scratch, and just need to be hemmed.  I have quilts in every possible stage of completion that haven't been touched in over a year.  I meant to knit some socks for Grandpa for Christmas, and only got as far as the cuffs.  Yeah, I also have socks in every possible stage of completion.  So for a month, I'm finishing things.  Daily.  I might allow myself to finish my old projects, but the main idea is to start from scratch, which I'm pretty good at.  For February, I'm doing something I'm bad at, in the hopes that I'll improve with practice.

My second goal is to think small.  I'm forever thinking about big projects that I don't have the time, money, or energy for.  Remodel the bathroom.  Landscape the backyard.  Knit my husband a sweater.  Re-organize the junk room — all 400 square feet of it.  Sew all my own clothes for a year.  When was the last time I set out to make a potholder?  Or a suncatcher?  How long has it been since I painted a picture for the refrigerator?  I love making bed-size quilts and knitting complicated cables and learning difficult new skills, but it's good to remind myself that there is still value in simple, easy things.  Like a cup to hold my pencils, or a frame for a special photograph.  Kid stuff, sure.  But where else am I supposed to put my pencils?

For the month of February, I resolve to tackle small Things.  And to finish Things.  There are lots of other goals I'd like to talk about, but let's not tackle all my bad habits at once.

What do you do to get your creative juices flowing?